Cheryl Ladd (born Cheryl Jean Stoppelmoor; July 12, 1951) is an Americanactress, singer and author. Ladd is best known for her role as Kris Munroe in the television series Charlie's Angels, hired amid a swirl of publicity prior to its second season in 1977 to replace the departing Farrah Fawcett. Ladd remained with the show until its cancellation in 1981.

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Personal life

Ladd was born Cheryl Jean Stoppelmoor in Huron, South Dakota to parents of German descent, the second daughter of Dolores, a waitress, and Marion Stoppelmoor (1929–2001), a railroad engineer.[1] She married fellow actor David Ladd, with whom she had a daughter, Jordan Ladd.[2] She took his surname as her own, which she kept after their divorce. Her niece is Dallas Cowboys CheerleadersAshley Marie. She has been married to music producer Bryan Russell since 1981, and has a stepdaughter, Lindsay Russell. Ladd is a celebrity ambassador for the child abuse prevention and treatment non-profit Childhelp. She is a Republican.[3]

Career

Ladd initially came to Hollywood in 1970 to begin a career in music (she was known as "Cherie Moor" when she was the singing voice of Melody on Hanna-Barbera's Josie and the Pussycats animated series).[4] She soon began to land non-singing roles in commercials and episodic television - including guest appearances on shows such as The Rookies, The Partridge Family and Happy Days. The Charlie's Angels series made her an overnight star (she was fired to replace Farrah Fawcett and, unlike Fawcett during her year on the series, had no aversion to appearing in skimpy bikinis on the show), and Ladd took the opportunity of her sudden popularity to further pursue her musical interests, guest-starring in musical-comedy variety series and specials, performing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl XIV in January 1980, and releasing three albums, enjoying a Top 40 Hot 100 single and a Gold record.[5] In September 2000, Ladd starred on Broadway, taking over the title role from Bernadette Peters in a revival of Irving Berlin's Annie Get Your Gun. She played the role until January 2001, when Reba McEntire took over.[6]

Following Charlie's Angels, Ladd remained a familiar face on television and has starred in more than 30 made for television films, including a coveted role as Grace Kelly, the Philadelphia heiress who became a Hollywood glamour girl and then a European princess, in a biopic that was begun shortly before Kelly's death. She also starred in feature films such as Purple Hearts, Millennium, Poison Ivy (featuring Drew Barrymore, who later starred in the film adaptations of Charlie's Angels) and Permanent Midnight. Ladd had the lead role in the television series One West Waikiki (1994–96), and made guest appearances in other TV shows such as Charmed, Hope and Faith and CSI: Miami. From 2003 until the show's cancellation in 2008, Ladd played Jillian Deline, the wife of the lead character Ed Deline (James Caan), in 29 episodes of the television drama Las Vegas.

In 1996, Ladd published a children's book, The Adventures of Little Nettie Windship. In 2005, she published Token
Chick: A Woman’s Guide to Golfing With the Boys, an autobiographical book which focused on her love of golf. For
several years, Ladd hosted a golf tournament sponsored by Buick.

On April 17, 2010, Ladd, along with her co-angel, Jaclyn Smith, accepted the "2010 TV Land Pop Culture Award" for Charlie's Angels.[7]

In 2010, Ladd filmed a TV movie titled Love's Everlasting Courage for the Hallmark Channel, which aired on October 1, 2011.[8] That same month, she guest starred on NCIS in the show's ninth season episode "Thirst" as the love interest of medical examiner Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard.[9] In December 2011, she guest starred in an episode of Chuck, playing Sarah Walker's mother.[10]